__________________________________________________________________________
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Lance Madigan
Public Information Officer
Utah County Health Department
Phone: 801-851-7531
Mobile: 801-404-7651
Email: uchlth.lancema@state.ut.us
PROPER MEDICATION DISPOSAL IN UTAH COUNTY
Orem, UT, October 15, 2009 – The Utah County Health Department, in conjunction with local law enforcement agencies and the federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), is supporting a proper medication drop-off and disposal program for the state of Utah.
This is in response to a recent study completed by a Utah County coalition of community members called the Substance Misuse and Abuse Reduction Team, which identified the extent of alcohol and drug abuse in Utah County.
Utah leads the nation in prescription drug abuse, according to the most recent statistics from the Utah County Division of Substance Abuse Prevention. Deaths caused by prescription drug abuse exceeded vehicle fatalities in 2007 for the first time in Utah’s history. State and county officials are doing what they can to curb the problem.
A “Clean Out the Cabinet” program has been adopted in hopes of making prescription drugs less available. Studies indicate that 34% of Utah County residents claimed to have leftover prescription medications. Merely having leftover pain relievers in the home places families and individuals at greater risk of abusing prescription drugs.
Advocates are asking resident to get rid of old medications at designated drop-off sites to prevent drug addiction and to dispose of drugs in an environmentally friendly way.
“With Clean Out the Cabinet, we’re looking to bring awareness to the community,” said Pat Bird, Utah County Division of Substance Abuse prevention manager. “Some people don’t understand it’s an issue now. Clean Out the Cabinet is about reducing the ability to access drugs that are used and abused — lock it up or get rid of it.”
Currently in Utah, there are two types of formal collection options: at law enforcement agencies, or at household hazardous waste collection events. Law enforcement agency “Drug collection for Proper Disposal Programs” exist in several Utah counties. Law enforcement officers, because of strict laws governing prescription medications, oversee household hazardous waste collection events that happen a few times per year. After being collected, each agency collects and processes the medications using their evidence department and protocols, which includes destruction of the drugs through incineration.
If the local police department does not have a household hazardous waste program or if no drug collection option exist, simple steps can be made to ensure proper disposal. It is advised that all personal identification is removed from the bottles, and the unused drugs are mixed with coffee grounds, kitty liter, or another undesirable substance. Then the mixture is to be placed in a sealed container and put it into the trash.
By taking the time to implement these simple actions, the threat of accidental poisoning, drug abuse, and overdose can be minimized. For more information about “Clean Out the Cabinet” campaign, and to find the nearest disposal drop off box, visit http://www.cleanoutthecabinet.org.
###
Contributed by Garrett Harding
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Lance Madigan
Public Information Officer
Utah County Health Department
Phone: 801-851-7531
Mobile: 801-404-7651
Email: uchlth.lancema@state.ut.us
Leftover Prescription Drugs Can Lead to Future Abuse
Provo, UT, October 15, 2009- A recent study has shown that 34% of residents who had been prescribed pain medication had leftover drugs stored in their homes. These studies also revealed that there was a correlation between holding onto leftover prescription and future abuse.
In the U.S., the state of Utah has one of the highest rates of prescription drug abuse. “There were more deaths in 2007 and 2008, from prescription drug abuse than from car accidents”, stated Clyde Nielson, a board member for the Utah County Health Department, during the Utah County Board of Health Meeting in May 2009. Prescription drug abuse can be a result of many different things but for Utah County, leftover prescription drugs in the homes of residents produced a higher risk of abuse. The Utah County Substance Misuse and Abuse Reduction Team stated that “having leftover prescription pain medicine in the home is associated with a greater likelihood that an individual will have less concern about the health risks associated with increasing the dosage of pain medication without doctor approval”.
Studies conducted by the Utah County Health Department, concluded that there is a higher probability of individuals who have leftover prescriptions to: have been prescribed by a doctor more medication then what was needful, use medication in a way that was not originally prescribed for them, sharing medication with others who have not been prescribed the medication, and abusing these drugs. “Data has been collected from the Medical Examiner’s Office records, emergency room (ER) statistics, police arrest and vehicular crash data, high school and college substance consumption surveys, and other data related to the availability of prescription drugs,” said Kye Nordfelt, Utah County Division of Substance Abuse research analyst.
The studies indicated that 31% of residents kept their leftover drugs in case of an emergency, 22% kept their medication for possible future need, 16% reported that they did not have time to get rid of their leftover medication, 8% are not sure how or where they can discard their leftover medication, and 1% kept their leftover medication to save money.
When it comes to disposing of resident’s leftover medication, 36% of residents do not know how to properly dispose of their medication, 25% believed that they can just flush the drugs down the toilet, 18% thought they could return their leftover drugs to a pharmacy or police station, 13% believed that they could just throw them away, and 8% came up with other ways that they thought of to dispose of the drugs.
These studies show the importance of educating residents of Utah County on how to properly dispose of their leftover prescription drugs. The Substance Abuse Prevention team at the Utah County Health Department is working with the coalition, Substance Misuse and Abuse Reduction Team, to help combat this problem. The coalition includes doctors, law enforcement, PTA Members, parents, pharmacists, religious leaders, treatment professionals, public officials, and other community partners. These two combined forces have started a program called “Clean Out the Cabinet”. This program informs residents of the importance of disposing of leftover drugs and also educates them on how to properly dispose of their leftover drugs. There are two main ways that this program informs residents in Utah County how to dispose of their leftover drugs: crushing them up and throwing them away and drop off boxes. Drugs can be crushed up into powder and added to many things, for example, cat litter, dirt, leftover food, and etc. After the drugs are crushed up and added to other substances they can be thrown away. Residents can also take their leftover drugs for disposal to local police departments. To find the nearest disposal drop off box visit www.cleanoutthecabinet.org.
###
Contributed by Alicia Welker
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Lance Madigan
Public Information Officer
Utah County Health Department
Phone: 801-851-7531
Mobile: 801-404-7651
Email: uchlth.lancema@state.ut.us
Prescription Drug Drop-Off Event Scheduled
Provo, UT, October 13, 2009 – The Utah County Health Department and local law agencies are sponsoring a “Clean Out the Cabinet” event. The event will occur on Tuesday, October 27 at Intermountain Healthcare Central Orem Pharmacy to encourage residents to dispose of their excess drugs to help prevent abuse of prescription drugs in Utah County.
Prescription drug abuse is a huge problem in Utah County. The “Clean Out the Cabinet” campaign is hoping to help change this problem. The campaign is focusing on getting Utah County residents to dispose of their prescription pain medication in a responsible way. Drop boxes have been provided throughout all of Utah County where residents may drop off their extra and unused prescriptions. “If you don’t legitimately need pain medication, if there’s nothing that you need it for, we think you should dispose of it,” said research analyst with the Utah County Health Department Division of Substance Abuse, Kye Nordfelt.
Disposing of excess prescription drugs is a great preventative measure to avoid prescription drug abuse problems. In a recent poll in Utah County, 47% of residents knew someone personally who abuses prescription pain medication. If the drugs are not available for use, then it will never become a problem. Seventy percent of people who abuse prescription drugs admit that they acquired the drugs from their friends or family. Often times, the friends and family do not realize they are missing these drugs, so by getting rid of excess, this problem can be prevented.
To help kick off the “Clean Out the Cabinet” campaign, a special drop-off will be held on October 27 at Intermountain Healthcare Central Orem Pharmacy. The drop off will make it easy for residents to drive right up and drop their prescriptions off. Officials will be working to assure that the prescriptions will be safely discarded.
The campaign will also focus on educating people about eliminating prescription drugs. People are discouraged from flushing pills down the toilet or throwing them away in the trash because the pills tend to end up with people who will not use them correctly. If a person cannot make it to a drop box, they are encouraged to smash their pills and throw them away mixed with products that people would not suspect, such as cat litter or gravy. For more information about the “Clean Out the Cabinet” campaign, visit http://www.cleanoutthecabinet.org/
###
Contributed by Kimberly Jensen
PRESS RELEASE:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Lance D. Madigan
Utah County Health Department Public Information Officer / Risk Communication Coordinator
Phone: 801-851-7531
Email: LanceMa@Utah.gov
What is Happening in Utah County to Avoid Prescription Drug Abuse?
(Provo, UT, October 15, 2009)- SMART coalition launches collaborative efforts to reduce prescription drug abuse in Utah County. One of the most prevalent counties in the nation at abusing prescription drugs is Utah County and measures are being taken to improve that statistic. It is a coalition in conjunction with the “Clean Out the Cabinet” campaign. The coalition consists of law enforcement, PTA members, parents, pharmacists and many others. The idea is to create awareness in Utah communities about abuse and measures that can be taken to reduce kids misusing prescription drugs.
Coalition efforts are focusing in on the southern part of the county as many of the problems associated with drug abuse takes place in that region. “South county cities have the most ER visits, treatment admissions, overdose deaths, shipments of prescription pain relievers into their communities, and youth in south county abuse prescription pain relievers at slightly higher rates,” said prescription drug abuse expert Kye Nordfelt. The main focus of the Clean Out the Cabinet campaign is to get rid of pain killers, the most oft abused prescription drug. Interestingly the data shown in a recent study shows that men and women have abused just about the same. Males have had a slight majority of deaths due to over dose but the rate of abuse is pretty similar. The populations most likely to abuse are those that are 20-30 and 40-50.
While research about the rates of abuse is still limited, it has provided vital information for preventing more abuse. Currently the SMART coalition is conducting further research which they hope will enable them to better serve the county and have more effective interventions. For those who have interest in joining the cause, they should contact Kye Nordfelt at 801-851-7181.For information about the campaign make sure and visit: http://www.utahcountyonline.org/Dept2/Health/Substance%20Abuse/Cabinet/facts.html.
###
Contributed by Scott Daly
